WiR: The Truce :)
by the pixlexic sloth
Summary: Ralph was terrified at the thought of Vanellope and the Nicelanders actually meeting, especially with Gene involved- and he'd honestly been avoiding such a chance encounter at all cost. But when the inevitable happens and they end up crossing paths, the wrecker quickly realizes how bad -or how good- such an introduction could turn out.


**(A/N: I just wanted to really imagine what it would've been like for Vanellope to meet Gene and the Nicelanders for the first time lol I also like to think that the cake the Nicelanders made Ralph at the end of the WiR movie had something to do with with that dirty-hair brat ;)...****Hope all enjoy this mostly goofy one-shot! :)**

* * *

"So...you climb up this baby and wreck it every day, eh?" The child mused, staring straight up as she stood right beside the Nicelanders' building. "That's just insane..."

Her neck aching from bending it so far back, the girl was flabbergasted that she couldn't even see the top of the apartment building, it was so tall...And although she'd never admitted it out loud, she was greatly, greatly impressed by her new friend's climbing and wrecking power.

Standing beside her, the bad guy of Fix-It Jr chuckled. He'd climbed up the side of this building for 30 odd years now- and so its gargantuan size wasn't that impressive to him anymore. Still, he could see why new visitors -like his new good friend, Vanellope- were so easily intrigued by the building.

Finally grinning widely- one that he never thought he'd have in connection to his bad guy job- the wrecker shrugged carelessly.

"Yup," Ralph admitted to her, "climbin' and wreckin' are pretty much my only two jobs around here...other than being thrown into that mud puddle," he then mentioned as an afterthought, snorting as he gestured to the deep mud pit behind them...

Before quickly regretting the fact that he'd actually just said that out loud.

Instantly losing his smile, the large man winced and blinked down worriedly at his small friend. He just _had_ to say that, didn't he?

Unsurprisingly astonished by such horrific news, Vanellope's gawk suddenly became more angry than impressed. She indignantly glared at the large pile of mire behind them and then irately glitched to stand right beside it. Looking back up at the huge apartment building again, an open look of sheer disbelief came across her face.

"Wait...you get thrown off the roof from way up there...and somehow _don't die?!"_ She instantly shrieked in horror, a look of utter distress surfacing on her face. Why hadn't she known this before?!

"Uh...yeah," the wrecker just worriedly answered her, wishing to not feed into her concern any more than he already did- knowing exactly where it would lead.

_Why did I have to open my big, stupid mouth?! _He screamed mentally. _Especially to Vanellope?! I was trying to keep the fact I'm thrown off a roof from her for as long as I could!!_

"And you just let whoever does that to you _do_ that to you?!" The irate child shrieked on indignantly. "You just let them chuck you over the side like that?!"

When her friend just gave her a weak, slight nod, the child's face flushed with indignation...When suddenly it became a look of sheer, undeniable fury as a realization hit her.

"It's those stupid _Nicelanders_ that do that to you, isn't it?!" She hissed through clenched teeth, one of her eyes twitching slightly as her petulant voice only elevated in volume. "I swear if it is, those little snot-nose shorties won't ever see _the__ light of day_ again when I get done with them-"

"Woah, kid!" Ralph attempted to calm her down, his huge hands up already up in defense as he slowly walked towards her. "It's ok, really! I'm-"

"What?! No, it's _not_ ok, Ralph!" Vanellope vehemently countered, her hands clenched into small fists as she clamored on. "It's _not_ ok how they treat you! Who do they think they are?! You're _ten times_ their size, for Mother Hubbard's sake!! Don't those small-fries realize what you could do to them?!..."

Biting his lip as an answer, Ralph apprehensively looked away- afraid of agreeing and disagreeing with her.

"Do you _yourself_ realized what you could do to them?!" the child then hissed ridiculously, her tone beyond serious. "You could easily squeeze the hateful guts out of them like an infected pimple!! All if you really wanted to!"

Despite her angry tone and mien -and his own trepidation- Ralph couldn't help but stifle a laugh at her startling words.

That _was_ a valid point his new friend had about his game mates' contrasting size, after all...one Ralph had honestly and deeply, _deeply_ meditated on the first few days of gameplay in Fix-It Felix Jr.

Within one week of being plugged in, the poor dubbed 'bad guy' had already had enough of the annoying, stuck-up jerks ironically called the _Nice_landers. Unlike the sweet, easy-to-get-along-with Felix, the Nicelanders were at times very bitter and even cruel to Ralph- and, to top it all off, they were programmed to throw him off the building after they and Felix would defeat him. Every single game and every single day- no breaks, no relief. And not even one single apology, either.

And that was just the townfolk themselves; their mayor, Gene, was the worst of them all. He practically trained his citizens to mistreat the bad guy of their game, using them as his minions to deploy his hurtful, painful treatment. Gene readily took the lead in mocking Ralph, belittling him- and in treating the sensitive large man as if he didn't even deserve to be in Fix-It Felix Jr. As if Ralph wasn't an important part of the game. As if he was _just the bad guy who wrecked the building..._

So, yeah- within that first week, Ralph understandably had gotten fed up...And although not violent towards others by nature, the easily temperamental man was fully prepared to give those townfolk a piece of his mind...

But once he quickly realized the high degree of strength he had -and how contrastingly powerless the Nicelanders (including Gene) were- Ralph's anger towards them abruptly cooled off. He made himself internalize it more than anything else...And if he was being honest, things _did_ improve after that first week of gameplay. Slightly.

Once the Nicelanders truly saw all the damage Ralph easily could do with his size and strength...seeing all he could do to a _sturdy brick building_...knowing there was _no telling _what he could do to _them_ if he got mad enough...the townfolk backed off their mocking- and grew more and more _afraid_ of Ralph than anything else. In fact, within that second week, their mediocre teasing had melted into flat-out avoidance...which Ralph didn't know which he hated more.

But whether they were in fear of him, rude to him, rejected him, or just completely prejudice towards him, the gentle wrecker had just learned to tolerate most of his game mates. Ignore their treatment of him- even Gene's. Just let it all go and just do his job as the bad guy- for 30 long, _looong_ years.

But now...all of that was different. In just one night, the Nicelanders' overall view of Ralph had changed- and so had their treatment of him. They had become kinder, more accepting of their bad guy...and just as happily, less fearful of him...

And Ralph was shocked that _his_ overall view of them had changed, too. His game mates were no longer just annoying, stuck-up, scared jerks; they were, dare Ralph to say, characters he was starting to actually _like_ being around. Even _Gene_ wasn't too bad anymore- and _that_ was really saying something.

And although all of the emotional wounds they inflicted on him were still yet to completely heal, Ralph was mature enough to forgive the Nicelanders and just move on from it all. Just have a clean slate and leave the past in the past...

For the most part, at least.

"Kid, it's okay," Ralph finally drawled out slowly to the indignant girl before him, making his tone soft- yet he couldn't swallow down the small smile coming on his face.

No one had ever defended him like this before- and although she still barely knew him, Vanellope had already proved to be a very, _very_ protective friend. And although the two were already super close... it still kinda shocked Ralph that Vanellope was this adamant about his safety.

"The Nicelanders throw me off the roof because they're just doing what they have to for gameplay," the wrecker then tried to gently reason with the child. "That's kinda what we NPC have to do; we don't really have a choice. We _have_ to do what the game tells us to do..."

The child before him, though, didn't look so convinced by his words- although she _did_ slowly unclench her fingers and allowed her arms to fold over her chest.

"The Nicelanders don't really _want_ to throw me off- well, at least, not anymore," her friend mentioned before finally shrugging back down at her. "But whether they want to throw me off or not, it doesn't matter. They don't really view me as this terrible guy anymore; that's all in the past... and we're all on good terms now," he assured her softly. "I'm fine with it all. Really."

At his credible words, Vanellope raised a sleek black eyebrow, her suspicion still running high. Placing her tiny hands on her hips, the child then narrowed her eyes and glared across at Ralph.

She was honestly _appalled_ at her friend's lack of a backbone in defending himself- so if he wouldn't stand up for himself, then _she_ was going to have to do it.

"Are you _sure_ you don't want me to run them over with our kart, Ralphie?" She pressed protectively- although a smirking, eye-rolling Ralph could hear the hidden eagerness in her tone. " 'Cause I can make them all roadkill in no time flat- heh, pun indeed intended," she devilishly smirked as her friend shook his head dismissively at her.

"I can totally make it look like an accident, too," the child continued, innocently rocking on her heels as she batted her beautiful eyes up at her new friend. "If, ya know, that's what you're worried about..."

Unable to hold back a laugh any longer, Ralph finally chuckled and felt a smile tug at his mouth. He was oddly touched by her threatening murder on his one-time enemies.

Lumbering over to her, the wrecker affectionately scooped up the puckish child and placed her on his shoulder. Forcing a smile down herself, the girl just rambled on, clearly doing her best to win Ralph over with her diabolical assassination.

"Plus, I even vow to run 'em over here in Fix-It Felix Jr...," she pledged, holding two fingers up as proof, "so they will unfortunately regenerate and stuff."

Shaking his head again, the wrecker pointedly smirked at her. As he did, he saw that her adorable face was lit up by the still hopeful thoughts of getting to have the thrill of justifiedly running over someone.

"I think I can manage just fine without killing my game mates, kiddo," the wrecker smirked to her softly, ruffling her raven hair. "Thanks for the...er, offer, though."

"But they _gotta_ learn not to mess with ya, Ralph!" The child interjected, her voice as raspy and whiny as ever- before giving Ralph an authoritative noogie herself. "That's how you gain control over people, ya know. Threatened to murder their disrespectful butts and suddenly they all become your pals for life!"

Laughing again, Ralph just raised a mocking eyebrow her way.

"So _that's_ how it works, eh?" he mused with a smile as he placed his huge hands on his hips. "I've been doing it wrong all these years, then...and I'm guessing you're speaking from personal experience, right?"

As Vanellope laughed devilishly in reply, the two were pulled from their conversation when they heard the building's entrance doors click open- and out slowly spilled the Nicelanders themselves. The group of short characters stiffing walked down the steps as they chatted softly to themselves, bobbing robotically along. Clumping close together, they pooled at the bottom of the steps, their plump, short bodies even more exaggerated in the glowing lanterns shining down on them.

Instantly gulping at their lingering sight, Ralph felt his eyes go wide, his joking demeanor instantly vanishing. A millisecond later, an unsettled knot took up residence in the back of his throat, feeling like it was about to choke him alive.

This was _not_ going to be good.

In all honesty, Ralph had been so excited to show Vanellope around his game for the first time that he hadn't even _considered_ the Nicelanders and Vanellope crossing path as being a very real possibility. He figured he'd just show his new friend around the game and then retreat back to his home for a game of cards or something- avoiding all Nicelander contact...

But there was no avoiding the potentially _explosive_ meet-and-greet now... terrifying Ralph like nothing else.

It wasn't really introducing Vanellope to most of the Nicelanders -such ones as Mary, Bob or Lucy- that concernedthe wrecker so much. Although having their moments of cruel-and-demeaning streaks, they had been fairly friendly to Ralph- never _really_ treating him too terribly bad. They were pleasant to be around. Mostly.

So Ralph had nothing to _really_ complain about in regards to them too much- and thus never really did. He hadn't said much to Vanellope about the majority of the games mates he had -other than saying they were pathetically shorter than her, that they viewed him as a bad guy, that they didn't invite him to their parties, and that they were stuck-up sometimes...So Ralph guessed Vanellope could be semi-cordial with them, with no real former prejudice of them and all.

At least, Ralph certainly _hoped_ she could semi-cordial. This _was_ Vanellope, after all.

No, most of Ralph's fears laid with the idea of her meeting one and only one of the Nicelanders in particular.

The mayor himself. _Gene_ himself.

From the second Ralph and Vanellope had become good friends, the very idea of the child actually interacting with the mayor of his game wasn't something Ralph cared too much to think about...

And all because Ralph just _had_ to open his stupid mouth and tell Vanellope all the mayor had done to him. Every single bit of it- well, except the whole 'being thrown in the mud pit' thing.

While he was 'teaching' her how to drive, the wrecker had told Vanellope all about his game...and had shamelessly ranted about how annoying Gene was. He told the child how the mayor had hated Ralph from the beginning of the game for no real reason- and how Gene was one of the meanest, jerkiest, most awful people Ralph had ever been unfortunate to meet...

And such ranting had proved to be a _huge_ mistake already.

Because the child Ralph had chosen to confide in had...well, a _different_ way of handling embitterment than he did.

Vanellope instantly hated the mayor as well- although not even meeting him yet. Anyone who hated her Stink Brain like that was immediately an enemy of hers, after all...and always would be, too. And the stubborn, sassy child felt very strongly about that, regardless if she actually met said enemy or not.

Not even formally talking with the man, the child also ranted about how awful Gene was when both she and Ralph waited for the Roster Race to start. She went on and on about how she wished she was as big as Ralph so she could squash the Nicelander like a bug on a windshield. How she wished she could just blow Gene up in a volcano, watching with glee as his Nicelander guts litter the sky...

And a whole bunch of violent deaths Ralph wanted to mentally unimagine. He hated Gene at the time, too- but not _that_ much.

And although he took her threats and imaginary murders as lighthearted...and now that he himself was almost on good terms with Gene...

A part of Ralph still heavily, _heavily_ worried that one day Vanellope would actually _follow through _with one of her ideas and seek to destroy the Nicelander in a blind rage.

Vanellope was a very feisty and easily defensive child as it was, after all- and honestly kinda _scary_ if crossed...Ok, _very_ scary if crossed, Ralph had to admit...

But now that she knew the mayor had taken part in throwing her new friend over the side of the apartment building and into a mud pit, there was _no telling_ what Vanellope was doing to do...

But it would be _way_ worse than running him over with her kart, that was for sure.

Briefly darting his eyes around, Ralph bit his lip nervously and looked for an escape route. He was desperately peering around for a way to sneak around the townfolk, just slip away unseen with Vanellope up on his shoulder when-

"Why _hello_, Ralph!" A beyond cheerful voice called out- uncharacteristically chilling Ralph to his code.

Cringing in the direction of the voice, the wrecker regrettably saw that the near the edge of the small circle the Nicelanders had formed, Mary had abruptly noticed the bad guy of her game standing in the shadow of the building. But instead of shrieking and causing game-wide panic at his sight, the Nicelander instead smiled warmly in his direction.

The plump woman stepped away from the crowd of fellow Nicelanders and waved cheerily to the bad guy of her game- not even seeing the already glowering child up on said man's shoulder.

"What a coincidence!" Mary chirped loudly- her sing-songy voice already giving Vanellope a headache. "We were _just_ wondering what you were doing on this fine evening!"

"Not being thrown off the roof by _you_ idiots," Vanellope mumbled under her breath so only Ralph could hear, remaining hidden from the townfolk's view as she pouted on Ralph's shoulder.

After fervently hushing the child and telling her -well, _begging_ her, really- to be nice, Ralph stiffly turned his head to grimace at the tiny woman approaching.

"Oh, uh...h-hey, Mary!" He announced nervously, his voice a little too loud as he froze in his place. His shoulders were so tense Vanellope almost slipped right off. "I was just, uh-"

"We missed you at the party tonight, Ralph!" A new voice suddenly said, Bob coming to stand by Mary with a huge smile on his face. In his hands, Ralph saw, was a small 8-bit plate with a small piece of delicious, reddish colored cake on it. "We saved you a piece of cake, though! Mary made it, of course! It's red velvet- your favorite!"

Straining his plastic smile as the more, Ralph gulped and worriedly stayed in place. He would've appreciated the kind-hearted gesture of saving him some cake any other time...but not particularly at the moment.

Finally forcing his tense legs forward, the wrecker slowly took a couple of steps towards his game mates- still trying to remain somewhat out of the glow of the street lamps.

"Uh, t-thanks, Bob," he finally mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck- purposely trying to keep Vanellope hidden from view behind his large arm. "That's-"

"Ooh, and we have something _else_ for you!" Yet another happy voice chirped, an excited Deanna coming into view as she waved the other Nicelanders around to gather close by.

"Yeah! It's...a _medal!"_ Mary glowed out, her blush and soft eyes visible even from where Ralph was frozen in place. "We Nicelanders just wanted to make up for everything we've-"

_"N-NO!"_ The bad guy of their game abruptly screamed, causing each small Nicelander to jump in place. Pleadingly holding his large hands up, he gulped at their stunned reaction and rushed out his reasoning. "T-Thats ok! I don't need a medal, really!"

At his seemingly humble -yet oddly _desperate_\- rebuttal, Mary just dismissively shook her head.

"But of course you do!" She contended, her voice extremely gentle- and painfully apologetic. "You've _always_ deserved one-"

"Oh, really?" An indignant, raspy voice interrupted mysteriously nearby...

Before Vanellope suddenly glitched to stand in front of the group of small Nicelanders, her face beyond enraged as she narrowed her sharp, murderous eyes their direction.

"...THEN WHY HAVEN'T YOU JERKS GIVEN RALPH _JUST ONE MEDAL _ALL THESE YEARS UNTIL NOW?!"

A long, pregnant pause was all the Nicelanders could manage as they stared slack-jawed at the strange, pixellating, _irate_ person suddenly appearing before them...

And before Ralph could even begin to calm them, every single Nicelander instantly became frantic. They shrieked as they raced stiffly around in circles, utterly and completely in chaos. In their frenzy, a few of the poor townfolk even ran into each other, causing themselves to fall over with an electronic _thud_ as others sought protection by fleeing back into the building.

The whole scene was quite comical to Vanellope, who beyond relished the fact she'd actually made her excitable, short enemies afraid of her. Watching with utter glee as said enemies scattered around, the child smirked and shoved her hands in her hoodie pocket- just waiting for one to cross her path.

As one shrieking Nicelander accidentally paused before her, Vanellope snarled menacingly- and caused the poor short man to literally faint in his place, falling over and hitting the hard pavement below as the others tripped and race over him.

"AAHH!" Mary screeched loudly as she hid behind Bob, who was trembling himself. "It's a _gremlin!"_

Smirking all the more, Vanellope cackled loudly- withdrawing her hands from her sweatshirt to form intimidating 'claws'.

"Yeah...yeah, that's _exactly_ what I am!" She lied as she went along with the woman's accusation, loving how she was unnerving these jerks to their 8-bit codes. "And don't you forget it!!"

Rolling his eyes as the Nicelanders' screams just became more panic-filled, Ralph groaned and rubbed his forehead. Of all the ways this could've gone, _this_ was by far the most headache-inducing.

Desperate to get the Nicelanders to calm down -which was now going to be even harder, thanks to Vanellope's childish lie- the wrecker blew a loud, attention-grabbing whistle.

"GUYS! It's ok!" He yelled out loudly as everyone stopped their shrieking or fleeing (or smirking) and turned to look at him.

Once the group calmed enough to settle down a bit, Ralph scooped his friend up and gently set her back on his shoulder.

"This kid is with _me,"_ the wrecker paused long enough to glare pointedly at the girl, "and she's _not_ a gremlin!"

When Vanellope just smirked even more in return, Ralph shook his head in annoyance and rolled his eyes.

"This... is Vanellope," he slowly sighed to the group of trembling Nicelanders, gesturing up at to the now narrowed-eyed child on his shoulder. "Ya know, that kid from Sugar Rush I told you about..."

At his assuring words, the townfolk finally slowed in their shaking, beginning to cautiously eye up at the child. They were slightly calmer- yet still on edge at the intense child's presence.

"Oh...I- I see," Mary finally murmured, coming out of her hiding place behind Bob.

A small, warm smile formed on her face as she hesitantly approached the duo of friends, her small eyes softly focused on the child.

"I'm sorry for our adverse reaction to you, dear," Mary admitted apologetically as she gestured towards the other Nicelanders. "We are _all_ very pleased to meet, Penelope-"

"My name is not 'dear' OR Penelope," the child immediately hissed, her eyes murderous slits now shooting deathly daggers at the startled woman. "It's _Va-_nellope. Get it right, genius."

When Ralph gave her a pointed look of horror, the small girl just rolled her eyes. She wasn't letting some stupid Nicelander give her a term of endearment or get her name completely wrong.

"R-right, of course," Mary quickly corrected herself- backing up slightly in alarm. She'd never met a child this feisty. "Ralph has told us all about you, er..._Vanellope_-"

"Well, what a coincidence," the girl interrupted yet again, her voice painfully sarcastic as a fake, scarry smile appeared on her face. "He's told me all about _you_ as well! Like that you _all_ are just a bunch of-"

"What Vanellope _means_ to say," Ralph quickly intervene, afraid of just what she'd say next, "is that she is pleased to meet you all as well."

Glaring over at her, the parental man pointedly gestured at the child to make her proper hellos- which, of course, Vanellope stubbornly refused to comply with.

"Whatever," she hissed with an eye roll down at the Nicelanders. Suddenly glitching back down to the ground -this time creating a quiet echo of astounded oohs and awes from the townfolk- she narrowed her eyes. "Now which of you short morons is Gene?"

The Nicelanders before her became quiet, unsure of just why this rude, petulant child was asking about their mayor.

_"I_ am," a stuck-up, haughty voice broke through the crowd suddenly...and as the group of Nicelanders cautiously shuffled out of the way, a short, mustached mayor appeared near the very back- his arms already crossed in defiance.

Sizing up her opponent for a split moment, Vanellope stubbornly crossed her own arms as she saw Gene's eyes narrowed in her direction- clearly ready for any battle the child invoked...

And somehow, he proved to be even _more_ obnoxious than Vanellope had imagined.

All watched on pins and needles as the mayor stiffly bopped down the middle of the path created by his fellow game mates, stopping when he came to where the small child stood. Although seeming to still be harboring some unknown annoyance towards her, the Nicelander allowed his arms to fall at his sides...

And surprising everyone -but especially Ralph- Gene chose to nod semi-politely towards the girl before him, a small yet smug smile appearing on his face. He then robotically held out a tiny hand for her to shake, a lingering arrogance as he did so.

When Vanellope did or said nothing except glare at his extended hand, however, the man's semi-welcoming smile dropped considerably. He raised a suspicious eyebrow at her, unsure of her sour, closed-off demeanor.

"Pleased to meet you...Miss Vanellope," the short man finally murmured politely- earning just another eye twitch from the girl before him.

Instead of holding out a hand in return, the stubborn child's arms just remained crossed over her chest, clearly irritated by the mayor's mere presence and greeting. She was silent for a solid minute- which was _never_ a good sign, Ralph undoubtedly knew...and just when no one could take the awkward silence anymore, the irate girl finally spoke.

"Sooo... _you're_ the mustached turd that made my Stink Brain's life miserable for 30 years, eh?" Vanellope mused dryly, her eyes narrowed into unimpressed slits as she smugly snarled. _"Not_ pleased to meet you."

In horror at her words, Ralph gawked down at his new childish friend before him. As he did, a collective gasp spread through the Nicelanders. They'd _never_ heard a child talk to an adult like that.

_"Kid!"_ The wrecker screeched, amazed at her rude behavior. "You can't just-"

"Oh, what?!" she hissed in reply, rolling her eyes up at him. "Don't tell me you're actually _friends_ with this jerk now?! 'Cause I'd be freinds with _an empty toilet paper roll _before I'd be friends with him!... And I _meant_ to say that!!" She growled as an afterthought, causing Ralph to groan disgruntledly.

Before her best friend could apologize for her behavior, Vanellope suddenly saw a shiny item glistening from Gene's other hand. Snatching it up, the child held the item up to her face- repulsed to see that it was, in fact, the small, golden medal the Nicelanders were planning on giving Ralph.

Glaring at it for a moment, the girl focused her eyes back at Gene- murder strong in her eyes.

"Oh, you gotta be _kidding_ me!" She growled loudly, roughly shaking the shiny medal in the mayor's face. "You call _this_ a medal? Where's the pizzazz, the details, the _personalization?!_ This rinky-dink medal looks like you just pulled it right off a wall or somethin'! There's _nothing_ about this medal that even screams Ralph or hero, for Saga's sake!"

Taken aback by her harsh words, the mayor backed up a little- and, to Ralph's distressed, there was actually _fear_ forming in his 8-bit eyes.

"After _30 years_ of treating the good bad guy of your game like trash, you think something like _THIS_ is going to make up for it all?!" She crowed finally- before turning to give a stink eye to the other townsfolk. "You think 'missing him' at your party is enough? You think giving him a tiny slice of cake bearly enough to feed a _mouse_ is ok? You think giving him a flimsy, good-for-nothing _medal_ is going _fix_ all you've done to him?!"

Her eyes narrowed like never before, the child proved her point by dramatically tossing the gold medal over her shoulder. As it crashed on the ground with an electronic _ding_, all gasped and stared wide-eyed at the bold child.

"Nah-uh," Vanellope then hissed with a head shake. "Do _better!"_

In a completely stunned silence, Ralph gawked down in utter horror. Quickly picking her back up and placing her on his shoulder -purposely a little rougher than before- the bad guy blushed down at the mayor of his game and to all the other bewildered Nicelanders.

"I am _sooo_ sorry about her behavior, guys," he rushed out, his brown eyes deep and apologetic- before turning to glare at the girl upon his shoulder. "She's still learning how to interact with people..."

"Oh, I know how to interact with _people,"_ was Vanellope instant rebuttal, her glare never losing its intensity. "Just not snot-nose, pampered _nincompoops!"_

Closing his eyes and sighing once more, Ralph bit his tongue. Just when he thought he could actually be on good terms with the fellow members of his game, Vanellope just _had_ to get sassy.

"You morons wanna see a medal worth giving someone?" The girl suddenly pushed, daring just one to reject her offer.

In a blink of an eye, the child suddenly slipped off the medal she'd given to Ralph from around his neck and glitched back down to the ground, glaring as she did so.

"Now _this_ is what I call a medal!" She boasted, proudly holding up the childish necklace she'd made for the Nicelanders to admire...

But instead they just stared at it, the strange "medal" she was showing off being different than anything they'd seen before. In fact, they'd never seen a medal like _that_ before.

This medal was just a heart-shaped cookie dangling by light pink, ribbon-esque material. It had teal frosting on it, a ton of different-colored sprinkles littered across it, and it almost looked... _editable_, if the townfolk wad being completely honest.

But on the front was the most touching detail of all -the words "You're my Hero" scribbled messily in white icing where all could see.

None of the good-guy medals the Nicelanders had given Felix _ever_ looked like that...

And yet...the more they stared at the hand-made, childish award, the more the townfolk silently realized that somehow...

This medal did indeed fit the good bad guy of their game _perfectly_.

_"This_ medal's got character," Vanellope continued to gloat, shaking her hand-made award in their direction. "And there's no other medal out there quite like it!"

Pausing to belovedly peer down at her Stink Brain's reward necklace, the sentimental child traced her small fingers over the icing, reminiscing on how the words it spelled out would forever be true...

And just how much she truly loved the bad guy she had given it to just a few days ago.

"I made it _just_ for Ralph," she mentioned out loud softly, her eyes misting over just slightly. "And so it's special and unique...just like him..."

Shaking herself out of her sentimental stupor, the small child abruptly glitched back up on Ralph's shoulder and gently slipped the medal back over his head. Once it softly settled on his neck, the girl fondly adjusted it for a moment- earning a small blush from her hero.

"So if you want to "make-up" for everything you've done to Ralph, _do_ better," Vanellope continued, her voice sharp- yet strikingly soft as she glared back down at the Nicelanders. _"Be_ better. _Treat_ Ralph better. Don't just invite him to your parties -and then miss him when he doesn't show up; _insist_ that he come and join you. Don't just save him a pathetic piece of cake; _make a whole cake_ for him, made especially for him...And don't just give him a hero's medal to cover over all your mistreatment of him..."

She pointedly trailed off, pausing to gently laid her head upon Ralph's- causing the wrecker to smile slightly in embarrassment.

"...Treat him like he's already _had_ one for all these years."

Blinking repeatedly at the small child's touching words, Gene just responded by silently pursing his lips together. Surprisingly Ralph greatly, the mayor even seemed to mull over the child's words as he out-right avoided Ralph's nervous gaze...

And, although he tried to hide it, Gene couldn't successfully conceal what he was feeling.

For the first time since their game got plugged in, Ralph didn't see even a hint of arrogance in the mayor's eyes. He saw no traces of anger or resentment. He didn't even see a faint trace of annoyance anywhere in the Nicelander's small eyes.

Instead, all the shocked wrecker saw was actual _shame_. A pitiful, pointed look of shame screaming out from Gene's eyes...

And when his eyes shifted to look over at the others in his game, Ralph was shocked to further see that the other Nicelanders were staring at their feet in like manner- embarrassment and regret spread across their faces as well.

All which made Ralph cringe in his place.

"Guys...listen," he quickly began- and sent a look that silenced a quick-tongued Vanellope before she could interrupt again. "I appreciate the medal and the cake, really. It means alot..."

"But she's right," Gene suddenly spoke, still refusing to look up as he cleared his throat in shame. "We can't pretend that a mere piece of cake or even a medal fixes anything. We have -er, _I_ have treated you horrible all these years, Ralph...," he slowly corrected himself, his small face free of any pride. "And it took only a few days ago to realize that. We are- _I_ am sorry..."

His shame only increasing, the mayor trailed off. He nervously stared down at his small hands- his deep regret only growing.

"I'm truly, _truly_ sorry," Gene finally gulped out as he abandoned fiddling with his fingers. "For _all_ the things I said and did towards you over 30 years, Ralph."

At the mayor's clear words - and loving the new and refreshing feelings they invoked in him- Ralph just nodded.

"I know, Gene," the wrecker responded as he just shook his head casually- although he couldn't help the small smile coming on his face. "And I don't hold any of that against ya now."

At Ralph's confirming forgiveness, Gene finally allowed himself to look up at the bad guy in the eye- and then clearly stated something that sent a chill up Ralph's spine.

"Well... just know...You are _not_ just the bad guy who wrecks the building, Ralph."

Gulping back a large knot forming in his throat, the wrecker forced down a blush at the mayor's touching words. Although he'd never admit it outloud -and not _ever_ to Vanellope - it sure did feel good to finally hear those words from his one-time enemy.

At Gene's kind apology, the child on the wrecker's shoulder suddenly glitched back down- her eyes not nearly as sharp as they were just moments before.

"And don't you _ever_ forget that," she pointed commanded...finally extending her hand for the mayor to shake. "Maybe then I can _tolerate_ you a smidge better."

Shocking all, including Vanellope, Gene just smirked at her words- and heartily returned the gesture.

Watching the two happily shaking hands for their 'truce', Ralph repeatedly blinked again- trying to keep back the strangely emotional tears that were starting to form.

He had _two_ new-found friends becoming cordial...all out of his concern...

Shaking his head clear of the warm fuzzy thoughts swarming his mind, the over-emotional wrecker reached down and scooped up the discarded golden medal. He dusted it off with two huge fingers...and with a half-smile, slipped it over his head, watching as it laid perfectly right next to Vanellope's.

"Well...thanks again for the medal and cake, guys," Ralph smiled as he casually scooped up Vanellope again and placed her on his shoulder- a permanent, triumphant smirk on her face. He gestured up to the top of the apartment. "I'm gonna show Vanellope the rooftop, ya know...you guys wanna join us?"

At his invitation, the Nicelanders all smiled kindly and looked at Gene- a strange look planning on their faces. Getting their pointed looks, the mayor just smiled back at the wrecker and the child on his shoulder...thinking of an idea her words inspired.

"I think we'll have to turn down the offer for now," Gene then said graciously- turning to exchange a pointed, smiling look with Mary. "We've got some...well, _baking_ to get done...but maybe we can join you guys the next time you venture up there."

Respectfully nodding at him, Ralph quickly agreed to the idea. Before he began their climb of the building, the wrecker handed the plate of red velvet cake up to Vanellope to hold- who greedily took it with all too happiness.

Giving the Nicelanders -now people he could truly call his actual _friends_\- one last look, Ralph sighed in contentment and slowly began to climb up the side of the building. His heart pounding in a happiness all too new to him, the bad guy realized that for the first time since his game began, he was truly and completely at peace with all of his game mates.

There was no 'mostly', or 'almost', or 'slightly'- just complete, utter peace and closure, which was an amazing feeling...

And it was all ironically thanks to the blunt, dirty-hair brat of a _best_ friend on Ralph's shoulder.

Briefly looking over his shoulder at her, the wrecker rolled his eyes with a smirk when he saw that Vanellope was already stuffing her face with _his_ gift of cake.

"Huh...I can see why they voted that bozo Gene into office now," the girl smacked out loudly- earning a light-hearted chuckle from her best friend as he continued his ascent up the ladder. "He's got some good leadership skills."

Pausing to lick the icing off her fingers, the girl waved down to the group of Nicelanders now far below them- and clearly stated something that made Ralph's smile grow all the more.

"I think the shorties of your game deserve to live another day, Stink Brain...Oh, and this red velvet cake is amazing. I sure hope that Mary lady makes more."


End file.
